I've been officially bitten by the DIY bug (I blame Pinterest). My very first DIY project was to re-upholster my gross rust color ottoman that I got last year from the Salvation Army for $5.
It wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be, actually. I originally thought I was being a little over zealous in picking furniture to re-upholster for my first DIY, but I am really happy with the result.Items needed:
-Needle nose pliers
-Scissors
-Staple gun and staples
-Measuring tape
-Fabric to cover the ottoman
-Foam (if you wish to make the ottoman softer to sit on - I used 2in foam)
-Box cutter
-Quilters Batting
-Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks (optional)
-Decorative trim (optional)
First thing I did was measure everything. I planned to add 2 inches of foam to the top to make it more comfortable to sit on, so I added that to my dimensions as well. Then I figured out how many yards of fabric I would need (adding an extra inch to each side to make sure I had enough to staple. I ended up buying a yard and a quarter of upholstering fabric from Hobby Lobby - it is BEAUTIFUL, you'll see!
Then I removed the legs.
Then I was tasked with the arduous task of removing all the staples with needle nose pliers to get the old fabric off. I won't lie to you - this part was INCREDIBLY tedious and I hated every second of it.
After probably about an hour and a half, I was left with:
A ton of old staples.
A shell of an rust color ottoman fabric and a naked ottoman.
I left the foam that was already attached as it wasn't in terrible shape. If you take the fabric off yours and its crumbling and gross - get rid of it!
I got so excited at this point, I forgot to take any other pictures until I was done. I know, I know, total newbie move, but what can I say?
I had to cut down my 2in foam to the right size to sit on top of the ottoman. I measured the cuts and drew the lines directly onto the foam and cut using a box cutter. I had to draw lines on both sides of the foam and cut each side because the foam was thicker than the box cutter blade.
Once the correct size, I put the foam on top of the ottoman. Then I used the quilter's batting that I bought to drape it over the foam and staple it to the bottom of the ottoman, to hold the foam in place. I had a bit extra, so I trimmed it all down.
Next came the fun part. I laid the new fabric down on the floor, design down. Next, I placed my newly foamed and stapled naked ottoman and placed it legs up (you know, if the legs were attached) on the fabric. Gently pulling the fabric over the long side, I stapled it in place, stapling almost to the corner, but not quite. Then I repeated on the opposite side, pulling the fabric as tight as I could. Ideally you'd have another person to assist, but I was on my own and did alright. Again, staple almost to the corners, but not quite.
Next come the short sides. Repeat the process you did for the long sides, pulling everything tight. The corners, however, are tricky. This lovely website was what I used to know how to do the corners. I would offer that you trim a little here and try to do the corner, and trim a little there and re-try to do the corner, just so you don't accidentally trim off too much to complete the corner at all. That would be a disaster!
Once your corners are done, that's it!
The finished product!
If you want to add a trim around it along the bottom, or the middle (to make it look like its two parts), I'd suggest doing so with hot glue. That was my original intention, but now I am second guessing myself! I have the trim, I have the hot glue, but I'm waiting to make a final decision. :)
I hope that is helpful! :)
Next on the docket is an even bigger DIY project. Can you guess what it will be?
I plan to make something out of this desk/table (from Craigslist - $25) and two of these small particleboard bookshelves from Target that I've had for a few years.
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Any guesses? Stay tuned!
